Blue Shield Billing Issues Result In Credits And Extra Charges To Members

Blue Shield of California has experienced ongoing system issues that have recently been corrected. As a result of these issues, some Individual and Family Plan members received past billing statements showing incorrect amounts due. Affected members will receive a detailed statement of corrections for these past months and, in some cases, previous years, in their January billing statements. Those who have been over billed will be credited, and those who have been under billed will only be responsible for adjustments to the December premium, not for past months of accrued charges.

To help these members understand the corrections, we are sending email communications to four distinct populations:

Blue Shield credits for off-exchange member accounts

Dear [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME],

This letter is to let you know that your January billing statement will reflect some historical adjustments to past months’ premiums. We have experienced ongoing system issues that have recently been corrected. The adjustments have resulted in a credit to your account or a reduced amount due.

The ongoing system issues resulted in us billing you incorrectly for a period of time. Your January bill may be longer and contain more information than usual. This is because it includes billing adjustments for past months and, in some cases, for previous years.

We have corrected the issue and have credited the amount over billed back to you. You will see the adjustment(s) in your January statement.

If you have questions or concerns, please call Blue Shield’s Customer Service at (888) 256-3650 during business hours, Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. We value your membership and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Under billed off-exchange member receives bill adjustments

Dear [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME],

This letter is to let you know that your January billing statement will reflect some historical adjustments to past months’ premiums. We have experienced ongoing system issues that have recently been corrected. The adjustments may have resulted in an additional amount due for the month of December. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

The ongoing system issues resulted in us billing you incorrectly for a period of time. Your January bill may be longer and contain more information than usual. This is because it includes billing adjustments for past months and, in some cases, for previous years.

We value your membership and sincerely regret this error. Therefore, we will not hold you responsible for paying for any corrections that resulted in underpayment for months prior to December 2016. However, your January bill may include an additional charge for adjustments to the December premium.

If you have questions or concerns, please call Blue Shield’s Customer Service at (888) 256-3650 during business hours, Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Blue Shield credits on-exchange (Covered California) member accounts

Dear [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME],

This letter is to let you know that your January billing statement will reflect some historical adjustments to past months’ premiums. We have experienced ongoing system issues that have recently been corrected. The adjustments have resulted in a credit to your account or a reduced amount due.

The ongoing system issues resulted in us billing you incorrectly for a period of time. Your January bill may be longer and contain more information than usual. This is because it includes billing adjustments for past months and, in some cases, for previous years.

We have corrected the issue and have credited the amount overpaid back to you. You will see the adjustment(s) in your January statement.

If you have questions or concerns, please call Blue Shield’s Customer Service at (855) 836-9705 during business hours, Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. We value your membership and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Under billed on-exchange (Covered California) member receives bill adjustments

Dear [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME],

This letter is to let you know that your January billing statement will reflect some historical adjustments to past months’ premiums. We have experienced ongoing system issues that have recently been corrected. The adjustments may have resulted in an additional amount due for the month of December. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

The ongoing system issues resulted in us billing you incorrectly for a period of time. Your January bill may be longer and contain more information than usual. This is because it includes billing adjustments for past months and, in some cases, for previous years.

We value your membership and sincerely regret this error. Therefore, we will not hold you responsible for paying any corrections that resulted in underpayment for months prior to December 2016. However, your January bill may include an additional charge for adjustments to the December premium.

If you have questions or concerns, please call Blue Shield’s Customer Service at (855) 836-9705 during business hours, Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Blue Shield will send a letter by U.S. mail to each affected member who does not have an email address on file.